This invention relates to periodontal probes used by dentists to determine the size of periodontal pockets formed around teeth.
The use of periodontal probes in dentistry is well known. These instruments are employed to measure and map the size of periodontal pockets around the teeth of patients. The measurements are required to determine the extent of gum disease. The commonly employed probes have a metal measuring tine with suitable markings thereon to enable the dentist to measure the depth from the visible gum line of the tooth to the bottom of the periodontal pocket. The measuring tine is connected to a suitable elongate handle. These known devices can be sterilized in the usual manner, such as by use of an autoclave.
One concern that dentists have and that their patients have at this time is the risk of possible infection or disease being passed through instruments from one patient to another. Metal instruments such as the known periodontal probes which have a fairly fine point could possibly infect a dentist when it is being used through inadvertence or accident. It will be appreciated that these probes are being inserted into a patient's mouth in areas where infection and germs can reside and their tips can come into contact with a patient's infected blood, for example. If the dentist should accidently stab himself with the probe end, any infection that the patient has can easily be passed on to him. The dentist is thus in greater danger than another patient since the instrument would, in the normal course, be disinfected after each use.
However dental patients have a legitimate concern that the known probes have been properly disinfected before they are inserted into their own mouths. Since some infections, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, are deadly, this concern is legitimate and cannot be ignored by dentists. It is felt that one way of overcoming this concern by patients would be to have a periodontal probe with a probe tip that will only be used once and then disposed of. This way the patient can be assured that there is no risk of an infection or disease being passed to him.
Another problem with the known metal periodontal probes is that the metal probe tip can cause discomfort to the patient. Because the probe tip is quite small and therefore somewhat sharp, it can cause pain to the patient unless used with utmost care. The pain caused by the metal tip is increased by the fact that the probe tip is fairly rigid like a needle and therefore has no give when the tip is placed against the bottom of the periodontal pocket.
A further difficulty of the known periodontal probes is that the marking lines on the measuring tine can be quite hard to see, particularly when the tine is in the mouth of a patient. It is of course important that the periodontal pocket be measured correctly for an accurate diagnosis. Because of the size of a probe tip, it is difficult, if not impossible, to put numerical markings on the tip and therefore some other method must be used to indicate the measurement clearly to the dentist who is using the probe.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable periodontal probe tip having a flexible measuring tine with markings thereon for measurement and an integral connecting shaft to enable the tip to be detachably attached to a handle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a disposable probe tip device that can be readily attached to a suitable handle in an easy manner and in a manner which will not pass infections or germs to the sterilized probe tip.